The 3 Most Outstanding Security Manufacturers (OSPAs) Make No Sense

Published Sep 08, 2017 13:36 PM
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The Outstanding Security Manufacturer finalists (US edition) are here:

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And if you are wondering, "How did those 3 get chosen?" then you are thinking right.

The OSPAs

This is from the OSPAs (Outstanding Security Performance Awards), running events in the US, UK, Romania, Ghana, Nigeria, etc. Their values are:

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It is safe to say that their selections are going to easily jeopardize 2 and 4.

IDIS?

IDIS is most famous for wasting money on huge trade show booths and not much else. In 2015, IDIS Americas had $228,720 total revenue and while IDIS claims big growth in 2016, that still leaves them under $1 million annual revenue. While this would be impressive for an individual, it is extremely low for a manufacturer.

In fairness, IDIS is 'outstanding' for spending the highest percentage of its revenue on trade show booths we have ever seen. But, beyond that, the product portfolio's differentiation or market success is clearly lacking.

That anyone who actually knows security manufacturers could put IDIS in the top 3 'outstanding' is implausible, to say the least.

Cheering Results

IDIS quickly ran a press release cheering these results:

To be recognized this year as a finalist in the ‘Outstanding Security Manufacturer’ category is an even greater honor, for which we are grateful

Given IDIS' market position, I can certainly sympathize with their desire to capitalize on whatever they can.

Better Than Last Year

Last year, the OSPAs were similarly bewildering, with the following finalists:

On the positive side, after IPVM criticism, the OSPAs changed the title from 'Best' to 'Outstanding'. And 'Outstanding' is certainly softer than 'Best' but the 3 'Outstanding' finalists are presumably the 'most' outstanding, which is essentially the same thing.

Dahua Selection

Dahua being a finalist in 2016 is arguably as bad as IDIS in 2017. Since Dahua's 2016 section, Dahua's products were central to a massive cyber attack, Dahua's backdoor was discovered, and Dahua USA is on its third head / CEO this year. How's that for 'best' or 'outstanding'?

Means Well, Does Not Matter

The founder of the OSPAs is Dr. Martin Gill of Perpetuity Research and he undoubtedly means well. This is not another trade show / trade magazine cash play. But when one's ambition exceeds one's expertise, the results are neither credible nor respectable.

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